AMD CEO Rory Read steps down effective immediately

[Shawn Knight]

AMD CEO Rory Read has stepped down from his role as chief executive, president and board member, effective immediate. He is being replaced by chief operating officer Dr. Lisa Su who will also serve as company president and take his seat on the board of directors.

AMD didn’t provide a specific reason for Read’s departure, only going as far as to say it was part of a transition plan. The 52-year-old, who took over the helm in 2011 following the resignation of Dirk Meyer, will remain with the company through the end of the year in an advisory role.

During a conference call on the matter, Su promised that the company would not exit the x86 microprocessor space and that ARM and the x86 lines would co-exist moving ahead.

Su joined AMD in January 2012 as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s global business units and was responsible for driving end-to-end business execution of AMD’s products and solutions. She was promoted to chief operating officer this past June which, according to Anandtech, was to prepare her for the CEO position.

Su certainly appears qualified for the job. Before her time at AMD, she was a member of the technical staff at Texas Instruments in their semiconductor process and device center. Following that stint, she spent 13 years at IBM in various engineering and business leadership positions then joined Freescale Semiconductor as chief technology officer in 2007.

Su is only the fifth CEO in company history.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/58368-amd-ceo-rory-read-steps-down-effective-immediately.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

AMD didn’t provide a specific reason for Read’s departure, only going as far as to say it was part of a transition plan.

No wonder AMD has been so quiet, Read knew he was a temp in the board's transition plans all along. There was no need in AMD making noise until the transition was over with.

 

[EEatGDL]

I wish them the best, we need its comeback.

 

[dividebyzero]

No wonder AMD has been so quiet, Read knew he was a temp in the board's transition plans all along. There was no need in AMD making noise until the transition was over with.

The explanation doesn't really gel. If Rory was a stop-gap, then that would have been addressed, or at least intimated at the last financial quarter's CC at least. The bolt from the blue just cratered AMD's share price - can't see that as a planned positive move.
Likewise, if he was a seat warmer, why make him president of the company? And why would he suddenly relinquish his directors position? Surely, whatever made him important enough to be a board director (not to mention CEO and President) hasn't diminished if he's just stepped aside. You don't need to be an employee to be a director.

 

[Guest]

I wonder if he took his makeup artist with him.

 

[DDG4005]

What's going on at AMD? This is too sudden.

 

[oldikes]

Im hoping AMD is just biding its time and making a HELL of a new x86 desktop experience to kick intel back a ways.

 

[GhostRyder]

In all honesty this is going to be an interesting turn of events. Based on Su's experience and background it could be a good deal if she can push things forward. Though I hope some of the directions with AMD graphics do not change as I think some of the recent decisions are going to bring them forward.

 

[wiyosaya]

Maybe, just maybe, AMD realizes that it needs to serve its customers rather than a market. Personally, I do not see how it can essentially ignore the enthusiast market like it has been since Reed stepped in.

That said, her PhD is in electrical engineering - at least according to wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Su

Maybe, just maybe that is a good sign.

Business wonks simply cannot understand technology. All they seem to understand, from my viewpoint at least, is the bottom line. I am not saying the bottom line is unimportant, but I think if one were to look at what makes companies successful, innovation would be among the top qualities.

 

[Guest]

Really hope they move back into the real gaming realm. We use discrete GPU's, APU's are great for laptops but again thats usually only for social gatherings and backups for PC gamers. They still make great graphics cards for desktops, but leaving the CPU only world for less efficient APU solutions in high end gaming PC's seems backwards to me.

 

[money]

Is that a man or a woman in the pic?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Sad when a woman is no longer recognized as a woman, when dressed professionally. What difference does it make whether man or woman, where this topic is concerned?

 

[dividebyzero]

Sad when a woman is no longer recognized as a woman, when dressed professionally. What difference does it make whether man or woman, where this topic is concerned?

Be careful posing questions like that. The captain might pop in and answer it with an exhaustive critique of her visual qualities and an impromptu comparison with Grace Park

 

[cliffordcooley]

Grace Park must be known for taking her cloths off. So now where this topic is concerned, we need a Playboy model as the new CEO of AMD.

 

[Darth Shiv]

Sort of misleading... this is Rory Read isn't it? http://techreport.com/r.x/2011q3/amd-ceo-feat.jpg

That pic is of Dr Lisa Su.

 

[Mikymjr]

Yes I thought I saw a woman. But then I saw the headline Rory Read so it confused me. But yes that is Dr. Lisa Su in the picture. Let's see what she has in store, as the new CEO at AMD ^^

 

[tipstir]

I only two systems with APU Tech, they're not so bad. If this CEO want's to step down, I'll step up and fill his shoes at AMD! Yes!